Green Building and Manufacturing

America's Unfounded Fears of A Green-Tech Race with China
There has been growing talk about a clean-tech race between China and the U.S., often cast in ominous tones. But the quest to develop and implement renewable energy can be one where both nations win.
At a factory in Wuxi, China, workers lift solar panels onto conveyor belts, while others in white lab coats move between machines as they check on a process for etching and engraving silicon wafers to form solar cells.
This scene in itself isn't remarkable. But there is a new sort of excitement about the work. China's production of solar panels has grown quickly in the past two years; it is it now the world's leading exporter. When Matt Lewis, a representative of the California-based nonprofit ClimateWorks, visited the factory in October, he said it reminded him of his native Silicon Valley: The workers, even ordinary line workers, had a sense that they were part of building the future, the hot new industry.
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Leaks imperil nuclear industry, Vermont Yankee among troubled
VERNON, Vt. - The nuclear industry, once an environmental pariah, is recasting itself as green as it attempts to extend the life of many power plants and build new ones. But a leak of radioactive water at Vermont Yankee, along with similar incidents at more than 20 other US nuclear plants in recent years, has kindled doubts about the reliability, durability, and maintenance of the nation's aging nuclear installations.
Vermont health officials say the leak, while deeply worrisome, is not a threat to drinking water supplies or the Connecticut River, which flows beside the 38-year-old plant, nor is it endangering public health. But the controversy is threatening to derail the nuclear plant's bid, now at a critical juncture, for state approvals to extend its operating life by 20 years when its license expires in two years. Nuclear Regulatory Commission inspectors, Vermont Yankee's owners, and state officials are tracing the source of the radioactivity and searching for other leaks in the labyrinth of below-surface pipes on the plants' property about 10 miles from the Massachusetts border.
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Vt nuke plant leaks renew debate over aging plants
MONTPELIER, Vt. - Radioactive tritium, a carcinogen discovered in potentially dangerous levels in groundwater at the Vermont Yankee nuclear plant, has now tainted at least 27 of the nation's 104 nuclear reactors - raising concerns about how it is escaping from the aging nuclear plants.
The leaks - many from deteriorating underground pipes - come as the nuclear industry is seeking and obtaining federal license renewals, casting itself as a clean-green alternative to power plants that burn fossil fuels.
Tritium, found in nature in tiny amounts and a product of nuclear fission, has been linked to cancer if ingested, inhaled or absorbed through the skin in large amounts. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission said Monday that new tests at a monitoring well on Vermont Yankee's site in Vernon registered 70,500 picocuries per liter, more than three times the federal safety standard of 20,000 picocuries per liter.
That is the highest reading yet at the Vermont Yankee plant, where the original discovery last month drew sharp criticism by Gov. Jim Douglas and others. Officials of the New Orleans-based Entergy Corp., which owns the plant in Vernon in Vermont's southeast corner, have admitted misleading state regulators and lawmakers by saying the plant did not have the kind of underground pipes that could leak tritium into groundwater.
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Vermont Power Plant Continues to Leak Radiation
Technicians seeking the source of a leak of radioactive tritium at the Vermont Yankee nuclear plant have found concentrations in groundwater there that were three times higher than what was discovered last week, a plant spokesman said Monday.
Tritium was measured at 70,500 picocuries per liter, which the spokesman, Rob Williams, characterized as a low level. The highest level discovered so far �does not present a risk to public health or safety whatsoever,� he said in a statement.
But it does put Vermont Yankee over the threshold at which it is obligated to make a report to federal regulators within 30 days, and say what it will do about the problem. The limit, 30,000 picocuries, was crossed on Sunday.
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has already been at the site to study the problem, and Vermont Yankee is well into an attempt to find the leak and map the pollution.
The Environmental Protection Agency standard for the allowable level of tritium in drinking water is 20,000 picocuries per liter, lower than the N.R.C. reporting threshold. But so far no contamination has been found in drinking water sources, plant officials and the Vermont health department said.
The new, higher level of 70,500 picocuries per liter of radioactive tritium was measured in a monitoring well, one of six that the owner, Entergy, is drilling to try to find the problem.
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Airplane contrails and their effect on temperatures
Maybe you did some airplane travel over the holidays, and maybe, once your plane reached cruising altitude, you noticed the vapor trails from other jetliners crisscrossing your path. Or possibly one day recently, you simply looked up and noticed many thin, white clouds crisscrossing the sky.
These are contrails, perhaps one of the most directly observable ways human activity can change the weather. They form when, as exhaust spews from jet engines, moisture condenses on particles of soot in the subfreezing air.
They usually appear above 26,000 feet where the air is less than -40 C (also -40 F.) But factors besides altitude also play a role in their formation. Depending on how much moisture is in air, for example, contrails last shorter or longer. Moisture availability also dictates whether they form at all, and how much they grow after formation.
As it turns out, they also impact temperatures at Earth's surface, although by how much and in which direction - up or down - is still being worked out.
Initially, scientists thought that contrails, like the naturally occurring cirrus clouds they resemble and sometimes seed, had an overall warming effect. Although contrails clearly reflected incoming sunlight, they also trapped heat from below that would otherwise escape into space. Scientists therefore thought contrails had a net warming effect.
Then Sept. 11, 2001 presented a unique opportunity to study what the sky looked like without airplanes and contrails. In the wake of the 9-11 terrorist attacks, the FAA prohibited commercial aviation over the United States for three days. That's when David Travis, an atmospheric scientist at the University of Wisconsin, Whitewater, thought to look at how temperatures might differ at temperature stations around the country.
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White Roofs May Successfully Cool Cities, Computer Model Demonstrates
ScienceDaily (Feb. 2, 2010) - Painting the roofs of buildings white has the potential to significantly cool cities and mitigate some impacts of global warming, a new study indicates. The new NCAR-led research suggests there may be merit to an idea advanced by U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu that white roofs can be an important tool to help society adjust to climate change. But the study team, led by scientists at the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR), cautions that there are still many hurdles between the concept and actual use of white roofs to counteract rising temperatures.
"Our research demonstrates that white roofs, at least in theory, can be an effective method for reducing urban heat," says NCAR scientist Keith Oleson, the lead author of the study. "It remains to be seen if it's actually feasible for cities to paint their roofs white, but the idea certainly warrants further investigation."
The study is slated for publication later this winter in Geophysical Research Letters. It was funded by the National Science Foundation, NCAR's sponsor.
Cities are particularly vulnerable to climate change because they are warmer than outlying rural areas. Asphalt roads, tar roofs, and other artificial surfaces absorb heat from the Sun, creating an urban heat island effect that can raise temperatures on average by 2-5 degrees Fahrenheit (about 1-3 degrees Celsius) or more compared to rural areas. White roofs would reflect some of that heat back into space and cool temperatures, much as wearing a white shirt on a sunny day can be cooler than wearing a dark shirt.
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Seattle ordinance to ID energy-wasting buildings
Mayor Mike McGinn approved on Feb. 1, 2010, a new ordinance to identify energy-wasting buildings. The Energy Disclosure Ordinance, unanimously approved by the Seattle City Council on Jan. 25, 2010, will give city residents and property owners the tools they need to make necessary improvements. City officials say the new ordinance is critical to meeting the city's energy goals, while commercial property owners and energy efficiency contractors point to the economic and business benefits of the new policy.
The new ordinance requires large commercial and multi-family property owners in Seattle to annually measure, or benchmark, energy use and provide the city with ratings to allow comparison across different buildings. Building owners will also be required to share energy usage and ratings with prospective buyers, tenants and lenders during the sale, lease, or financing of properties.
Energy disclosure is one of several measures recommended by the city's Green Building Task Force aimed at reducing energy consumption in existing buildings throughout the city by 20%. Feb. 1 marks the first anniversary of when the task force provided those recommendations.
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High-performance green building standard released
Standard 189.1 will provide a strong foundation for high-performance green buildings.
A new standard for the design of high-performance green buildings is set to revolutionize the building industry. Published by ASHRAE, in conjunction with the Illuminating Engineering Society of North America (IES), and the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), Standard 189.1, Standard for the Design of High-Performance, Green Buildings Except Low-Rise Residential Buildings, is the first code-intended commercial green building standard in the United States.
The standard, published Jan. 22, 2010, provides a long-needed green building foundation for those who strive to design, build, and operate green buildings. From site location to energy use to recycling, this standard will set the foundation for green buildings through its adoption into local codes. It covers key topic areas similar to green building rating systems: site sustainability, water use efficiency, energy efficiency, indoor environmental quality, and the building's impact on the atmosphere, materials, and resources.
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1 World Trade Center Reaches 20th-Floor Level
NEW YORK (AP) -- Structural steel for the 1,776-foot tower that will be known as 1 World Trade Center has risen 200 feet above street level, a tangible sign of ground zero progress, redevelopment officials said Wednesday.
"This progress is one more sign that the site is not a pit anymore," said Chris Ward, executive director of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which owns the 16-acre trade center site.
Workers are now installing 16 steel nodes on the 20th-floor level, Ward said. They serve as joints between the steel framing for the building's podium and the steel for the rest of the tower. The 104-story skyscraper is scheduled to be completed in 2013.
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25 technologies that could transform U.S. infrastructure
Technological innovations could help revamp the battered infrastructure of the U.S., Mike Haney writes, pointing to an array of futuristic technologies that are being tested or already in use. Some of the most promising innovations include cars that detect and report potholes, road coatings for built-in de-icing, self-healing concrete and trackless elevated rail systems.
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Energy efficiency to shine in 2010
Solar and wind power may get the headlines and attention, but green-tech experts say 2010 will be dominated by energy efficiency, the mundane but critical process of cutting the amount of gas and electricity that homes and offices use.
Energy Secretary Steven Chu regularly describes himself as an "energy-efficiency nut." Sixteen states, including California and New York, have passed legislation enabling homeowners to finance energy-efficiency upgrades through their property taxes. President Barack Obama even declared insulation "sexy" at a Home Depot last month.
Then there are the sheer numbers. Venture capital investment in energy efficiency hit a record in 2009: at least 115 deals worth nearly $1 billion, according to a preliminary tally by the Cleantech Group and Deloitte. That's up 39 percent from 2008. Meanwhile, solar, which had 84 deals worth about $1.2 billion, was down 64 percent from 2008, and there's increasing talk about solar being "overfunded."
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New report says green building design fundamental to carbon cutting
Many 20th century buildings are totally dependent on fossil fuel energy to make them habitable - in the 21st century buildings must be designed to function with much lower levels of energy dependency, say the authors. The scale of this challenge is vast and will require both effective government policy and a dramatic increase in skills and awareness in the construction sector. Report author Doug King commented: "The sheer pace of change in the regulation of building energy performance has already created problems for the construction industry and the proposed acceleration of this process, aiming to achieve zero-carbon new buildings by 2020, will only widen the gulf between ambitious Government policy and the industry's ability to deliver."
The report introduces a new discipline; Building Engineering Physics, which supports the existing professions of architecture, structural engineering and building services engineering. Building Engineering Physics investigates the areas of natural science that relate to the energy performance of buildings and their indoor and outdoor environments. The understanding and application of Building Engineering Physics allows us to design and construct high performance buildings which are comfortable and functional, yet use natural resources efficiently and minimise the environmental impacts of their construction and operation.
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US 25 pct green power goal to add more jobs -study
* 25 pct green power goal by 2025 to add 274,000 new jobs
* House passed mandate would set 15 pct goal by 2020
WASHINGTON, Feb 4 (Reuters) - A national mandate requiring utilities to generate 25 percent of power from sources such as wind and solar energy by 2025 will create three times more jobs than weaker measures Congress is considering, a study released by renewable energy advocates said on Thursday.
RES-Alliance for Jobs, a coalition of green power businesses and trade groups, is using the new study to promote the benefits of a high federal renewable electricity mandate.
"A strong renewable electricity standard is crucial to create a stable investment environment and grow this highly promising sector," said Don Furman, senior vice president for development, transmission, and policy at wind energy company Iberdrola Renewables (IBR.MC).
"Without a strong RES, the US wind industry will see no net job growth, and will likely lose jobs to overseas competitors," Furman added.
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New System Provides Hybrid Electric Autos With Power to Spare
ScienceDaily (Feb. 5, 2010) - An advancement in hybrid electric vehicle technology is providing powerful benefits beyond transportation.
Researchers at the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory have designed, fabricated and demonstrated a PHEV traction drive power electronics system that provides significant mobile power generation and vehicle-to-grid support capabilities.
"The new technology eliminates the separate charging mechanism typically used in PHEVs, reducing both cost and volume under the hood," said Gui-Jia Su of ORNL's Power Electronics and Electric Machinery Research Center. "The PHEV's traction drive system is used to charge the battery, power the vehicle and enable its mobile energy source capabilities."
Providing more power than typical freestanding portable generators, the PHEV can be used in emergency situations such as power outages and roadside breakdowns or leisure occasions such as camping. Day-to-day, the PHEV can be used to power homes or businesses or supply power to the grid when power load is high, according to Su.
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